


one of those i've loved (along the way)

by parkrstark



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), F/M, Gen, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Recovery, Reunions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-22
Updated: 2019-10-29
Packaged: 2020-12-28 00:48:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21128039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/parkrstark/pseuds/parkrstark
Summary: Tony survives the snap and the world is saved. Peter thinks the only thing he'll have to worry about is the fact that his aunt and Happy are now an item...too soon, he realizes just how bad he underestimated just how bad Parker Luck could really get.





	1. reunions

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be 25 chapters because it's going to be a complete bingo board from Found Family Bingo. I got my card the other day and decided that instead of making each prompt a separate fic, I was going to connect them all into one narrative. I don't have a set update schedule for this. When I want a stress free writing session, I'll throw together another chapter. But it is all planned out, so there shouldn't be long waits between each. 
> 
> Some things to note:  
Tony survives the snap, May wasn't dusted, and there will be a major character death along the way. I debated saying this beforehand because I kind of wanted it to have some shock factor to my story, but I know someone people don't like major character deaths in their fics and would like to avoid them. It isn't Tony or Peter, but it is a main character still. There will also be graphic descriptions of violence in later chapters. (Whump is coming)

It had been a few hours since the battle officially ended. 

To Peter and half of the world, Thanos was defeated in only a few hours. Maybe a day or two. But to the rest of the world, it took over five years. 

Peter still had trouble understanding that, frankly. Half of the Avengers were just as confused as him, but the other half were older and more jaded. 

Especially Tony. Peter had just barely seen him on the battlefield when his mentor pulled him into a hug, but he saw how much older he looked. He saw the wrinkles by his eyes and he saw the gray in his hair. Peter wasn’t sure if Tony would feel self-conscious about it, but it made Peter smile. Neither his dad nor Ben lived long enough to get gray hair. At least one of them did. 

Then he had been incredibly stupid and snapped his fingers. In the next moments after that, Peter had really thought that was it. He thought that Tony was dying just as he finally got back. He heard his heart slow down, struggling to keep up. Peter doubted that Tony even knew he was on his knees in front of him, begging him to hold on. 

Rhodey pulled him away when he started to break down and Pepper took his place. Peter heard her tell him to rest and Peter hated her for it. He hated her for giving him the chance to leave them. She should have told him to keep fighting. 

But Rhodey kept him pressed against his chest and refused to let him go. Peter was saying goodbye when Steve shouted out that he still felt a pulse. In a blink, Steve was lifting him up and running. A few people were following behind him, but Peter didn’t know who they were. He snapped his head up to Rhodey and asked frantically, “What are they doing? Where are they going?”

Rhodey’s eyes were watching where Steve had disappeared with Tony. He looked just as lost. Maybe even a bit hopeful. “I don’t know, Pete.” 

  


They got their answer later, all squeezed in a nearby hospital. In normal circumstances, Tony would have been treated in the compound, but that was impossible now for obvious reasons. Tony was rushed off to emergency surgery and Peter was left in the waiting room with Rhodey and some others. Rhodey was the only thing keeping him sane. Rhodey didn’t let go of him for even a moment since they’d gotten in there. 

Peter sat in the chair, staring at the hallway door that doctors were coming in and out of. He was waiting for Tony to walk through, laughing at them for even worrying. He never showed up. 

Even though Peter kept his mask on, so no one could see his face or the tears trailing down his cheeks, Rhodey still held his hand tightly and whispered every so often. “It’s going to be okay, Pete. It’s going to be okay.” 

Peter knew that he meant even if Tony didn’t survive, it would be okay, but Peter didn’t want that. He didn’t want to live without him. So he didn’t respond to Rhodey’s soft reassurances. He continued to stare straight ahead, barely blinking. 

He was just barely paying attention to hear a few nurses come up to them and ask Rhodey if Spider-Man was okay. Rhodey always said he was fine, even if it was the furthest thing from being true. 

Both of them didn’t move for what felt like days before finally, a nurse came in and announced, “Family of Tony Stark?” 

Peter knew there were other people standing up. But he paid them no mind as he stumbled to his own feet, desperately saying, “Me, please. Is he okay? Is he okay?” His voice was breaking, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care. So what, he was crying in front of all of his childhood heroes? His number one hero was at death’s door. 

He felt another set of hands-on his back. They were softer than Rhodey’s. Both human hands, not a suit, because Peter was the only one of them that didn’t take the armor off. Rhodey had his off and so did Pepper. 

“He’s with us,” Pepper said softly. “They all are.” 

The nurse looked around at her waiting room full of superheroes. Then she turned to Pepper and said, “Mr. Stark survived the surgery. We couldn’t save his arm, but we were able to get his heart pumping. He has to take it  _ very  _ easy for the next few weeks and we can talk more about his recovery later, but for now, I think you should enjoy the miracle of him being alive.” 

Pepper let out a small sob as she let go of Peter to cover her mouth. “Thank you. God, I can’t thank you enough.” 

“We didn’t do much, ma’am. He’s the one that fought to stay. You’ve got a tough cookie in there.” 

Pepper let out a wet laugh. “You have no idea.” 

Rhodey asked the question he wanted to ask. “Can we go see him?”

She hesitated before nodding her head. “The three of you can go in there, but just be quiet and let him sleep. He should be up in a few hours.” 

Pepper was still thanking the nurse when Peter started hurrying towards the doors leading to the hallway he knew that Tony had to be done. Rhodey stumbled to keep up, holding onto his hand still. “Peter, wait,” he said, but Peter didn’t stop to listen. 

He kept pulling him until he heard feet running behind them. He heard Pepper whispered, “Where’s he going?”

“I don’t know,” Rhodey whispered back, “To find Tony, I’m guessing.” 

Pepper spoke louder this time, “Peter, honey, you’re going down the wrong hall. Tony is this way.” There was another hand grabbing him, steering him off his course. But Pepper said she knew where Tony was and Peter knew he could trust her. He wasn’t sure what the plan was other than just run past the rooms until he saw Tony through a window. 

They followed Pepper as she led them down a hallway that Peter had previously run past. They passed a few doors until finally, they stopped outside of one with the door shut and the windows covered. Pepper spoke again in a voice Peter knew was only meant for Rhodey. “I’m gonna go in first and see...just to see how bad…” 

Rhodey’s grip on his hand tightened. “Yeah, of course. I’ve got him.” 

Peter wanted to go in there too. He didn’t want to wait. But he knew that he was already acting like a child enough and he didn’t want to bother Rhodey and Pepper any more than he already was. So he waited outside the door until Pepper came back out. Her voice was low but directed to Peter. “You can come in now, Pete. He looks pretty bad but he’s going to be okay. He’s strong.” 

Peter nodded his head, swallowing past the lump in his throat. He just wanted to go in there and see Tony, but he was terrified to see just how bad he was. The stones ate through his suit, blistering his face. Would it still be there? He didn’t have one of his arms anymore. How would  _ that  _ look? 

“You okay, Spidey?” Rhodey asked, still holding onto him. 

Peter quickly nodded his head. “Y-Yeah. Let’s go…” 

Pepper walked back inside and Rhodey then slowly followed her. Peter squeezed the man’s hand but not hard enough to hurt him. When they walked in, all Peter could hear was the beeping of machinery. He tried to focus his hearing on Tony’s heart, but he couldn’t make it out over all of the other noises. Between the smells, sounds, and lights, Peter was close to a sensory overload and if it were anyone but Tony, Peter would have made some excuse to leave. Even just to go to the bathroom after the battle to clean himself off. He could feel the blood drying to his face and mask. 

“Hey, bud,” Rhodey said, walking closer to Tony’s side. It’s Rhodey and Pepper. We brought a guest too. Peter’s here.” His voice sounded sad. “Did you get a chance to see him before you snapped? Please tell me you at least gave yourself that chance before signing your death certificate.” 

“We hugged,” Peter said quietly, staring down at where his right arm was supposed to be. “I helped him up and he pulled me in for a hug.” 

Rhodey glanced over at him with a smile. “He’s been waiting years to do that, kid.” 

Peter turned from Tony to look at Rhodey. He felt a little more in control of his body now that he saw that Tony was at least alive. “Yeah?”

“Yup. And you know who else was too?”

Peter could just barely muster a small hum before Rhodey was wrapping his arms around him and pulling him in a tight hug. He squeezed him tight and after a moment of hesitation, Peter returned the hug. He knew he was getting closer to Tony in the years, but he never expected Rhodey to miss him that much. 

“I missed you so much, kid,” Rhodey whispered in his ear. “I really did.” 

When Rhodey let go, Pepper was by his side, pulling him in for a hug. “It’s good to have you back, Peter.” 

“You both stayed,” he said. 

“Yeah,” Rhodey replied. “We weren’t dusted. But, we’ve been trying to do nothing but bring you all back for the last five years. Shit, it finally worked.” 

Pepper smiled softly, cupping his cheek gently. “You can take your mask off, baby. Go in the bathroom and take the suit off.” 

Peter’s eyes widened as he turned to Tony. “But Tony--.” 

“Will be okay. We’ll be right in here with him,” Rhodey reassured him. “Do you have clothes on under that suit?”

Peter nodded. He had a suit under the suit. And the outfit he wore to the field trip. The outfit that he had just put on the other day, but really it was five years ago. He took a few unsteady steps to the bathroom and Rhodey was holding onto his arm again to help him. 

“You’ll be okay?”

Peter nodded his head before stepping inside and shutting the door behind him. He didn’t hear Rhodey’s footsteps lead away from the odor, so he knew he was waiting outside the door until he finished probably. 

Taking a deep breath, he hit the button to take his Iron Spider suit off. It worked the same as his other suit did: just hit the spider on his chest. Except, it unfolded around him like Iron Man armor instead of the suit he usually wore. Once he stepped out of it, it folded nicely to carry out. Then he took his first suit off and pulled that one off him, folding it himself. 

Underneath the two, he was in his jeans, t-shirt, and flannel. They looked just the same as they did when he dressed himself the morning of his field trip. Like he hadn’t been in an actual war zone. He took a deep breath and looked up at the mirror on the wall and got a good look at himself. He was a mess. It was even worse than the aftermath of the Coney Island fight. 

He could barely recognize himself. 

His eyes were both bruised. His nose looked broken and his upper lip was smudged with blood. There were several gashes on his forehead and cheeks. They must have been pretty bad cuts since usually, he was healed up pretty quickly.

The worst part was the two distinct tear marks trailing down his dirty face. 

He looked like a baby. Not like a soldier. 

He leaned forward and turned the sink on to start cleaning his face up. Peter cupped his hands underneath the running water and splashed his face, trying to rub some of the blood and dirt off of himself. He couldn’t help the gasp he let out at the pain he felt from brushing against his nose. 

Rhodey was immediately knocking at the door. “You okay, kid?” He didn’t wait for a response before he was opening the door. “I hope you’re decent because I’m coming in.” Peter looked up and Rhodey met his eyes. “Oh, kid…”

“I was trying to just clean my face up…”

Rhodey walked in and opened a small cabinet by the mirror and pulled out a small rag. He held it underneath the water and then slowly lifted it to Peter’s face. He cleaned his cheeks gently. “I’m really proud of you, kid. And I know Tony is too.” 

“I almost lost the gauntlet,” Peter said, remembering being there in the dirt with explosions erupting at every spot around his body. All he could do was curl up and hug onto the gauntlet. 

“But you didn’t. And that was passed around a lot. You weren’t the only one having a hard time holding onto it. You kept it safe for a long time. Tony told me you kicked ass on Titan too.” 

“Titan…” Peter said, still struggling to understand how it was only hours ago for Peter but years ago for Rhodey and Tony. “I still don’t get this whole five-year thing.” 

Rhodey looked curious as he asked, “So, it didn’t feel like five years to you? Do you even know where you were?” 

Peter shook his head. “No...I was there, but then I was disappearing and it hurt. Tony was holding me and then I was gone. It hurt,” Peter said, still feeling the pain. “But then, we were all back on Titan, but I couldn’t find Tony and Dr. Strange he needed us so I just came through the portal.” 

“I’m glad you weren’t stuck in the stone or something for five years. We were all afraid of that most. At least you didn’t miss out on five years of your life.” Rhodey continued to clean up his face and Peter did his best to stay still. 

Peter knew what he meant, but Peter couldn’t find it in himself to agree with this sentiment. Sure, he didn’t age five years while he was gone, but the world did. And he didn’t know which was worse. 

* * *

The doors opened again, not longer than an hour after Rhodey and Peter left the bathroom. The three of them were sitting in chairs, around Tony’s bedside and Peter thought that the door opening was surely a nurse telling them that their hours for visiting were up.   


But instead, he heard a child’s voice. Well more like a squeal. 

Peter whirled around in his seat and instead of the child catching his attention, all he could see was the woman holding her. May was in the doorway and when she saw Peter, the tears in her eyes started to fall. Peter hoped that she was dusted too so she didn’t have to live without him for those five years, but he had a feeling that wasn’t the case. 

She pushed the child into the man’s arms standing next to her and she surged forward. “Peter!” She yelled, leaning down and wrapping Peter up in a big hug. He could barely understand whatever she was saying over her sobs. 

Peter squeezed her tight and whispered right back. “It’s okay, Aunt May. I’m okay. I’m home.” 

May pulled back so suddenly and cupped his cheeks in her hands. She looked deep into his eyes for a long moment before smiling. “You’re home.” She pressed her lips against his, making a loud smacking noise and Peter couldn’t even push her away in embarrassment. Not when he wanted to hold onto her as much as she wanted to hold onto him. 

“I’m sorry, May,” Peter whispered.  _ I’m sorry you had to live without me.  _

“Please don’t apologize. Please.” She sniffled and pulled away. When she did, the man that was standing next to her came to her side. May took the child from his arms and the man leaned down and pulled Peter in such a tight hug that he lifted him off his seat. It was until he was up close that he recognized who this man was. “Happy?”

“God, kid, don’t you  _ ever  _ pull that again. You scared the shit out of your aunt.” As much as he probably would have like to keep it out of his voice, the worry was easily noticeable. 

Peter twisted in his arms so he could get a better look at Happy’s face. His hair and facial hair was much grayer than Tony’s was. “You stayed too.” 

He looked down at him and nodded his head. “Yeah, kiddo.” 

Peter felt like he came to another universe when he saw how worried Happy was acting...that wasn't normal. Not that Peter didn't like it, but it wasn't the usual gruff man he knew. Speaking of other things that weren't normal, Peter glanced back to May and focused properly on the child in his aunt’s arms. He looked from the child with long brown hair and brown eyes to his aunt with long brown hair and brown eyes. Then he looked at the man that had walked in with May and easily passed the child between them like it was normal. The lump formed in his throat again. “Wh-What happened? Who is that?”

The little girl was tucked in May’s chest, looking over at him shyly. Despite the similarities, he didn’t think that could be...no...May hadn’t wanted any kids with Ben. She wouldn’t change her mind like that. 

“This is Morgan,” May said, looking almost sympathetic. Why was she sad to introduce a child to Peter? 

Pepper stood up behind them and took a few steps forward, stretching out her hands. “Hi, baby!” 

The little girl screeched again and said loudly, “Mommy!” She practically jumped from May’s arms to Pepper’s. 

Peter let his brain catch up. So, if the little girl--  _ Morgan  _ was calling Pepper ‘Mommy’ then that meant that Daddy...was currently laying unconscious in the hospital bed. Suddenly, the brown eyes and brown hair made sense. She wasn’t May’s child, she was Tony’s. And he wasn’t sure which one was more believable if either of them even were. 

He turned to Tony and whispered amongst the new noises in the room, “Oh, boy, do you have a lot to explain, Mr. Stark.” 

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is: "playfighting".


	2. playfighting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a panic attack in this chapter, so be careful. I love you guys.

It had been a month since Tony snapped. Things were slowly getting closer to being...normal. Well, as normal as the world could get after losing half of the population for five years and then suddenly getting all of them back.

The world was pretty disgusting and a lot of people were working together to clean it all up, but that took a lot of time. All of the Avengers, except for Tony, were helping with the reconstruction. Peter went out to help when he could (as Peter, not Spider-Man), but he stuck close to Tony’s side in his recovery. 

Tony used the time to make a new arm to replace the one he lost. A bionic arm. It looked like one of his suits but couldn’t be retracted like a usual gauntlet. 

Peter tried to get back to normal...or whatever normal was before Thanos. For Peter, he could still remember it all. He remembered it like it was yesterday. But for others, it was 5 years ago. 

May didn't even live in the same apartment as they did before it all happened. She said it was too much. She looked one way and saw Ben and when she looked the other way, she saw Peter. 

She was living with Happy now. Because they were a thing. Which explained why Happy was closer to him when he came back. Not that Peter was complaining; years ago (7 for them, 2 for him) he would have loved for Happy to like him. But now, there was too much changing at once. 

Even Tony had changed. He was a father. For real. He got married to Pepper, they had Morgan, and they'd moved to a cabin upstate...all without him. 

Everyone had moved on. 

Where did that leave him? 

It left him with weekend visits to Tony's cabin, on the floor of the living room playing with a toddler that called him her brother. But how could he be her brother when he barely knew her?

She loved playing pretend. Sometimes she was the Mommy and he was the baby. Sometimes she was a teacher and he was a student. Sometimes she was a chef and he was her guest. 

Peter could play pretend too. He played it every day, even without Morgan. 

He pretended he was happy. He pretended he was okay. He pretended like nothing was wrong. 

He wasn't as good as Morgan. Especially not today. 

This weekend, he was staying at Tony's cabin and it was just before dinner. Morgan, of course, wanted to play pretend. Tonight’s plot? The Avengers. It was going fine at first. Peter wasn’t even sure what Morgan was saying, he was just reacting to the small parts his ear caught. 

The night before he hadn’t slept a wink. No nightmares or anything, just insomnia. His body avoiding the nightmares. He spent the rest of the day just going through the motions. Morgan’s games included. 

Playing pretend was easy enough. 

Until Morgan was leaning from the couch cushions to land on his shoulders. It had caught him off guard and he crumpled to the carpet. He felt her knees digging into his back and her hand was on his neck, keeping his face on the ground. 

His eyes widened as he tried to keep his breathing under control. It was just Morgan; they were only playing. 

But then she was shouting loud enough that it sounded right by his ear. “I’m gonna kill you, Spider-Man!” 

It was Toomes, it was Thanos, it was every single person he’d ever put in jail...they were all there. They had him trapped. They were going to kill him. He couldn’t fight back. He was strong enough, but his body refused to move. 

He was going to die. 

So, he fought with the only thing he could control. His voice. 

“Get off!” He yelled. He tasted dusty cement in his mouth and he felt the water dripping down his back and neck. He was under that warehouse again. This time he couldn’t lift it up. “Get off of me!” He screamed. 

Suddenly, the pressure was off of him, but he still couldn’t move. “I-I can’t move!” He screamed for  _ anyone  _ to help him. “I can’t!” He sobbed, feeling the tears sliding down his face. “S-Stop! Don’t hurt me!” 

He was able to move his arms to cover his head and he curled up. Just as he’d done in the rubble of the compound. Just to avoid the constant downpour of bullets. They were coming down again. He sobbed as he prayed none of them hit him. 

“Hey, kid,” he suddenly heard. That was all he heard. His own ragged breathing and choked sobs and that voice. The voice that made him feel safe no matter where he was. “You’re okay, buddy. You’re okay.” 

Peter shook his head. They weren’t safe. Neither of them were safe. “They’re g-gonna kill me. I’m gonna die.”  _ Again.  _

“No, you’re not. No one is here to kill you. It’s just me and you here, bud. No one else but Peter and Mr. Stark.”

Mr. Stark...Tony...he was safe. He didn’t lie. Peter opened his eyes hesitantly and glanced around the room. He didn’t see any broken concrete. He didn’t see any bad guys. He saw a pair of Spider-Man slippers. He followed the slippers up the legs and the torso until he saw the person’s face. He saw Tony. He looked tired and scared but mostly scared. 

Peter didn’t say anything. He just stared. 

Tony waited a moment before he gave him a smile. “You back with me yet, bud?”

Why was Tony in the middle of a battle? Why was he wearing slippers in one? He was retired now. “Go,” Peter whispered. “Go before they come back.” 

Tony’s smile faltered. “No one’s coming back, Pete. There’s no one here to hurt you. You’re safe at home.” 

“Said he was gonna kill me. Kill Spider-Man.” 

“Who said that?”

Who  _ did  _ say that? Peter didn’t know. But he’d heard it. 

“Morgan was playing with you. Do you remember that? Do you remember playing with Morgan? She was a bad guy and you were Spidey. You’re in the living room. We were getting for dinner.” 

Peter blinked a few times, trying to let his mind catch up. That sounded...true. He remembered sitting on the plush carpet and he remembered Morgan giggling and running around him. He couldn’t hear her giggles anymore, but he could feel the carpet on his cheek. “Carpet.” 

Tony reached forward and took Peter’s hand from off of his head. He pushed it to the ground with his own hand on top of it to press into the carpet. “Yes. It’s soft, isn’t it? Pep picked it out for Morgan. Easier and softer for babies to crawl on. Softest rug there is.” 

Peter hummed. It was soft. 

“Not soft enough for Spider-Babies to lay on though. Can you sit up for me?” Peter didn’t move and Tony continued. “I’ll help you up.” 

Peter nodded his head and Tony moved to help lift him up in a sitting position. He still felt weak and Tony must have known that because he was right by his side, bearing Peter’s weight. Peter let out a heavy breath that ended up being a choked back sob as he rested his head on Tony’s shoulder. 

Tony used his hand to run his fingers through Peter’s hair as he hushed him gently. “Shh, it’s okay, bud. It’s all okay. I’m right here. You’re safe. It’s all okay.” 

Peter shut his eyes and for the first time since he’d been back, he just let it all out. He sobbed until he could barely take another breath in. He didn’t say a word and Tony didn’t make him. He held Peter close and let him cry until his sobs died off to sniffles. 

“I bet that felt good,” Tony said in a soft voice. His hand was still holding Peter’s head close to his shoulder, methodically running his fingers through his hair. 

Peter had just sobbed his eyes out, quite literally, on Tony Stark’s shoulder. He felt so humiliated. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, even though he didn’t try to move from his spot on Tony’s shoulder. 

“Don’t apologize. I think you needed that.” Tony paused. “You’re bottling a lot up, kid.” 

“I’ll be okay,” Peter said.  _ When I can put on my suit without hyperventilating, I’ll be okay.  _

“Yeah, but how long will that take at your rate? I don’t want to rush you, but I think getting it out and talking about can help.” 

“I don’t want to bother,” Peter said. He didn’t want to bother Tony. He didn’t want to bother May. He didn’t want to bother anyone. 

“You’re not. And you wouldn’t. You’d be asking for help. Nothing wrong with that.” Tony sighed. “Everyone needs a little help sometimes.” 

“You have worse things to deal with.”  _ You lost your arm. You almost died.  _

“We don’t compare trauma in this house,” Tony said. “Physically, mentally, or emotionally. Trauma is trauma and everyone is allowed to hurt from their own without it being  _ worse  _ than someone else’s.” 

Peter shrugged his shoulders. “I guess I just didn’t want you to have to deal with anything else. And May just went five years without having to deal with my problems. I guess I just didn’t want to put it all on her already.” 

“She’s had her time without you, pal. I think she would love to help you with this. That’s her job as Aunt Hottie.” 

Peter laughed softly. “Don’t let Happy hear you say that. He almost knocked out this dude on the street the other day for grabbing her ass as he walked by.” 

Tony scoffed. “Like that woman needs anyone to fight her battles.” 

“Oh, she doesn’t,” Peter agreed. “But she likes Happy defending her honor.” 

“Yeah, I like him defending my honor too.” 

Peter rolled his eyes before relaxing more in his hold. He let them fall shut with a tired sigh. “I’m sorry for...all of this. Hiding it and then freaking out. Ruining dinner.” 

“You didn’t ruin dinner. I told them to go ahead and eat. We’d join them later. I think Morgan will be happy to see her brother is okay.” 

_ Morgan.  _ Peter sat up with a gasp. “Oh, my God. Mr. Stark, Morgan! Did I hurt her? We were playing-- did I hurt her?” 

Tony chuckled and rubbed his arm. “You didn’t even touch her. She jumped on top of you and you started to yell. She came running to us and we came running out. She wasn’t hurt. Just scared. And feeling incredibly guilty.” 

“I should apologize for scaring her. I’m sorry.” 

“No apologies. It wasn’t your fault. Maybe...maybe just try to ask for help? Whatever you need, I’ll get you. If you want to talk to someone, I can get you someone that I trust with identities or you can wear your suit. If that’s what you’re worried about.” 

Peter stared at his feet when he found himself admitting, “I can’t even put the sound on without freaking out. I look at it and I start shaking. The last time I tried to wear it, I almost threw up. With the mask still on.” 

“Oh, kiddo…” 

“I can’t even be Spider-Man. I’m just back there all over again. And I know, Thanos didn’t touch me. Only on Titan--.” 

“Oh, no. It doesn’t matter. You went through a war, Peter. There are grown men that come home from war just as hurt as you. They didn’t fight an evil titan. Their trauma is still as valid. No matter what.” 

“W-What do I do?” Peter asked. “How do I make the fear go away?”

“We can start by talking to someone. I think my therapist can really help you, bud. That’s what I did after TItan. That was the only way I was able to live without you.” 

Tony Stark couldn’t live without him? That was still too much for Peter to understand. It didn’t make sense. But it was true. Somehow and for some reason, Tony cared about him. Tony  _ loved him.  _ It had been the first words he said to him when he woke up. 

“You think it will help?” Peter whispered. He was afraid of it doing nothing and he would be just as broken even after trying to fix it. 

“Yeah, kid.” Tony pulled him closer. “I really think it will.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next prompt: Platonic Co-parenting


End file.
